Is comedy news the real news? This studio explores the rise of TV comedy news in contemporary society and mainstream media. We look at what makes TV comedy news distinct from other media forms, how it is produced and what appeal it has for various audiences. We explore the blurring of information, education and entertainment, and how satirical news continues to permeate the flow of mainstream media today.

Some examples of programs we analyse include The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in the US, and The Chaser’s War on Everything, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering and Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell in Australia.

This studio seeks to develop ideas, research, script, produce and present comedy news segments for TV, and investigate how they can raise awareness of social issues in 21st Century democratic societies. It also gives insight into working in a TV studio and collaborative media production.